It would involve Arcadia's online operations and the stores which are permitted to open under lockdown restrictions to continue trading, according to one retail figure.
Arcadia's pension scheme is likely to have the biggest claim on proceeds generated by Deloitte, with TopShop and TopMan - the most valuable brands in Sir Philip's empire - likely to be worth several hundred million pounds.
Bidders are likely to begin circling TopShop immediately, with Boohoo Group, the online fashion retailer, among the prospective suitors.
Some of Arcadia's other brands face being picked up by distressed retail investors or, like prominent names such as Cath Kidston, Oasis and Warehouse, becoming online-only fashion labels.
Sir Philip is said to be unlikely to seek to buy back any of Arcadia's trading operations from administrators.
Confirmation of the group's administration would come after a turbulent few years in which Sir Philip's reputation was destroyed and his fortune diminished by turmoil on the high street and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic.
Arcadia employs about 15,000 people, having announced about 500 head office job cuts earlier this year.
It has more than 500 standalone sites, the majority of which are closed because of the second England-wide lockdown, which ends next week.
Most of the group's employees have had their wages subsidised by the taxpayer this year under the government's furlough scheme.
Depending upon the outcome of an insolvency process, a substantial proportion of those jobs will be jeopardised.
Earlier this month, Sky News revealed that Arcadia had approached a number of lenders about borrowing £30m to stave off collapse, while The Sunday Times reported that the company's directors were intensifying preparations for the appointment of administrators.
In response to that report, Arcadia said there was no imminent plan to appoint administrators.
The parties approached about the emergency loan are said to have included Apollo Global Management, Secure Trust Bank and White Oak, an asset-based lender.
Arcadia's collapse would cap one of the most spectacular implosions in recent corporate history.
Sir Philip bought the high street group in 2002 for £850m, and just three years later paid what remains one of the largest-ever dividends - £1.2bn - to his wife and Arcadia's registered owner, Lady Tina Green.
For years, he was feted as a high street colossus, advising David Cameron on public sector waste during his period as prime minister.
In 2012, he sold a 25% stake in TopShop's immediate holding company to Leonard Green & Partners, a private equity firm, valuing the fashion chain at £2bn.
Sir Philip was later to buy it back for just $1.
His decision to sell the department store chain BHS in 2015 for £1 to Dominic Chappell, a former bankrupt who was recently jailed for tax evasion, set off a chain of events which cost Sir Philip his reputation and much of his fortune.
BHS collapsed just a year after that deal, sparking a bitter row about Sir Philip's responsibilities towards its pensioners.
In early 2017, Sir Philip struck a deal with pensions watchdogs to pay more than £360m to the BHS scheme and which set the tone for negotiations over Arcadia's retirement fund two years later.
Last year, the tycoon narrowly secured approval for a company voluntary arrangement at Arcadia, but was forced to pledge a package of assets worth more than £400m to the company's pension scheme.
Some of that funding could be jeopardised if Arcadia's administration is confirmed in the coming days.
The Pensions Regulator and Pension Protection Fund, as well as Arcadia's lending banks, are understood to be being kept closely informed about Arcadia's plans.
If Arcadia does collapse, it will be the latest big high street player to fall into insolvency during a torrid 2020.